Halo SportShot Build Log

So browsing around the custom projects section I came across user ant's build http://www.mcarterbrown.com/forums/c...sportshot.html of combining a Halo TSA with a SportShot to make a small capacity agitated hopper that looks stock. It inspired me to give it a go with my friend andover85. So here follows a picture build log roughly step by step. Feel free to ask any questions to andover85 or myself.

We did it the way we did to maintain as many screw locations as possible for strength throughout the hopper, allow for disassembly if a board or motor failed, ease of cleaning, maintain factory board and battery locations and also to get the motor as close to the SportShot feedneck as possible.

Supplies:
Halo TSA (bottom half needs to be in good condition, your choice of frontman or backman, we used a backman)
SportShot 100 round hopper
Dremel with numerous cutting, sanding, and shaping bits
Drill/Drill Press/Drill bits for dremel
Sand paper for hand sanding and sanding drums for dremel (definitely recommend both to speed the job up)
Hair dryer or heat gun (didn't own a heat gun so I used an old hair dryer)
Some form of epoxy preferably like an autobody bumper repair (get a fast setting one so it doesn't run like ours)
Needle Nose Pliers
Safety Glasses (These are a must! Hot melted plastic can and will fly into your eyes when using the dremel.)
Caulk Gun (only if you buy a large tube of epoxy)
Masking Tape (tape that peels off easy without residue)

Step 1:
Start by using your dremel to cut cleanly right where the large curved upper portion of the hopper meets the straight sides of the battery and motor compartment. Once you have separated the top and bottom halves cut the feedneck off as well. I recommend cutting at a high speed, quickly and smoothly to keep the melting factor down.

Step 2:
Cut off any excess plastic that may have melted during cutting. You should have a full enclosed motor/battery compartment area, you'll want to cut off about 3/4 of the top tray to help get the Halo shell closer to the SportShot. Don't cut too much, filling in a hole isn't as strong as if there was already some shell there.

Step 2a: (Optional)
Since this was our first attempt we used a slightly damaged shell as a test. The front nose near the feedneck was cracked and a screw hole snapped in half. We used our epoxy to fill the feedneck area later reshaping with a belt sander (using sand paper or sanding drums would also work, just take longer.)
For the screw hole we just laid the broken off piece back in place and filled it with epoxy to be drilled later and screw in a self tapping screw. Using painters tape you can restrict where the epoxy flows and it speeds up having to sand down the excess. We also used the tape to cover the old feedneck opening and filled it in.

Step 3:
Now we need make space for SportShot feedneck to stick through the Halo shell. You will need to cut a half circle near the battery compartment and some of the interior spines sticking up inside the Halo shell. For added space, shave off a lot of excess plastic around the SportShot feedneck. We ended up cutting off the front screw hole on the SportShot to make space for the motor.

Test fit the SportShot feedneck as you cut so you don't cut off too much at a time. Same goes for cutting the spines on the Halo shell.

We didn't like the rear gap being that large. We ended up dremel sanding above the rear screw hole to get a flatter edge.

Step 4:
Once we got the Halo shell closer to the SportShot, we lined up where the agitator paddle would stick through to the motor between the two halves. Place the motor in the front portion of the Halo shell in front of the SportShot feedneck. Get a really good eyeball estimate of where the motor mount will stick through and mark it with a marker. Remember when selecting your drill bit, it needs to be large enough for the paddle to stick through, not just the motor mount. Drill a pilot hole first for alignment then use your larger drill bit. After drilling, test placement particularly does the motor still spin freely.

Step 5:
Now that we had everything cut and aligned, we screwed everything together and then used painters tape to hold the two hoppers together. We kept the motor in place during all of this to guarantee proper clearance for the motor after the epoxy has dried. We only glued a small portion of the two halves on either side with the thought to take everything apart and fully glue after the initial alignment gluing.

do the batteries have enough room? it seems like the feedneck would get in the way, since the batteries point toward the feedneck

yes they will. we had to remove the original battery tray much to my chagrin but it allowed alot more space. we'll be soldering on 9V battery connectors to the board so the batteries have some freedom to be positioned differently. I will probably add a velcro strap to hold them down or line the battery compartment with some thin foam.

yes they will. we had to remove the original battery tray much to my chagrin but it allowed alot more space. we'll be soldering on 9V battery connectors to the board so the batteries have some freedom to be positioned differently. I will probably add a velcro strap to hold them down or line the battery compartment with some thin foam.

thanks for the question

if your using a backman loader, their should be a 2 prongs that connect to the board. youll just have to make sure that the batteries have enough tenstion to keep them pressed up against the tongs on the board

for the foam, i use window sealing foam on my soft ears (picture of the foam in the proflex link). works pretty good, should into that

if your using a backman loader, their should be a 2 prongs that connect to the board. youll just have to make sure that the batteries have enough tenstion to keep them pressed up against the tongs on the board

for the foam, i use window sealing foam on my soft ears (picture of the foam in the proflex link). works pretty good, should into that

we removed the battery tray that would give the batteries they tension needed to stay pressed against the board that's why we're using the 9V connectors.

might use foam like that or something denser. depends on how much extra space we end up with

Interested to see final product. Can you show the profile of the final hopper next to others for size reference?

final product is probably another week or two of sanding (bit of a perfectionist so i want this to look perfect which is hard to do on something that has so many curved surfaces )

anyway yes more pictures will be coming as the build progresses along with a durability and functionality test video once it is completed. I'll definitely take some size comparison shots next to a few different styles of hoppers.

Small update. Missed photos on a few steps but I'll give an explanation

Step 6:
Remove the tape holding the Halo to the SportShot, unscrew the two halves and finish gluing the top and bottom halves together. We glued the outside all the way then flipped it over after it dried and filled the inside space with some epoxy as well deep in the spaces between the two shells.

Step 7:
Reassemble your two halves into a hopper again after the epoxy has had time to dry. We had to send the inside edges of each half to get them to fit snugly together. Once it is reassembled SAND! We used a mixture of a stationary belt/circle sander, sand paper of varying grits, and different sized shaped and grit hand files. This will be the bulk of the time and work of the project if you want the hopper to look right.

Don't worry about sanding too much, you can always add more epoxy to re-sand. I am a perfectionist so I plan on spending ample amount of time sanding, filling, sanding, and filling till I get the shape and surface I'm looking for.

Step 7a:
This step is optional and may not be necessary for you. I found it hard to see where my highs and lows in the epoxy were so I shot white primer on the sides of the hopper so I had a better idea where I needed to sand more and where I would need to fill later.

You can see the shadows better after priming the hopper so sanding will be easier.

More sanding to come then it is on to final fitment, feed testing, durability test, then paint!

So between school and work and other projects coming up its been awhile since I've worked on this. Still a work in progress but it is functional. I also took some comparison shoots on my Phantom. Take a look.

Few steps I didn't photograph because I just didn't think to:

Step 8:
The Sportshot hopper has made normal battery placement impossible. The 9V battery tray won't fit inside the battery space no matter how much you hack it up. Solution: solder 2 9V battery pigtails onto the TSA board. Just bend the old 9V tabs off and then solder the 9V connector onto the board. There is a ton of solder on the old connectors so it is very simple. 9V pigtails can be had at any hardware store or Radioshack for a few dollars or just rip them out of electronics you aren't using (alarm clocks or use pigtails from guns where the plug has fallen off!)

Step 9:
Due to the position of the feedneck, the battery door won't close properly (seeing as we cut the area when it used to snap into place.) To get around that simply cut the locking tab off the battery door and then shape the end to match the curve of the feedneck. Insert the door into place and adjust the curve till it is relatively easy to take the door on and off. We found that our TSA portion of the hopper had bowed out slightly so the door didn't want to fit, we just squeezed the shell together and the door slid into place (it actually stays in place pretty well without anything securing it besides friction.)

Step 10:
So now it is time to test fit batteries in the battery compartment. We ended up not having enough space due to leaving all the vertical spines of the TSA shell in place. Dremel or cut the spines down until you can comfortably fit. Don't dremel the spines in the battery door because you want that to be strong enough to take a hit, plus you should have plenty of space after doing the spines in the shell.

Step 11:
Mount it! Test fit on the gun(s) you plan on using it on and see how it looks. I found that when I mounted it on my Phantom, the locking collar of the feedneck actually makes it impossible for the battery door to open, so I wouldn't have to screw it into place if I didn't want to.

Comparison shot to my Winchester with Dye Lock Lid

I'll take pictures of the steps I listed above when I get a chance and will also continue working on the hopper and this thread. I'll add comparison shots to some other loaders too once I get a better camera :bang: